These smoked chicken wings use a nice dry rub and are slathered in a juicy barbecue sauce that makes me feel like football games, tailgate parties, BBQ out on the deck, sunshine, sprinklers, and freshly mowed grass. You get the point. It is no wonder that they are known as THE party food!
You can’t have good BBQ wings without a delicious BBQ sauce and a dry rub. But flavors aside, smoked chicken wings can easily dry during smoking so the cooking method is even more important.
It’s not difficult, though. Just a few simple rules to follow. The results?
No matter how many I smoke, they seem to be gobbled up before I can get another batch done! Just be prepared to grab some for yourself before they are gone.
🍗 Ingredients
Chicken Wings – I much prefer to buy the wings and drumettes pre-cut, but the cost has definitely been higher recently. It is easy to cut them apart if you can save a few bucks, but I sure do appreciate any time-saver I can use.
Dry Rub – I used my go-to rub for this, DizzyPig’s DizzyDust. If you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. I use it on almost everything! If you have a favorite rub, use that instead. You really don’t need to go buy another one.
BBQ Sauce – The same thing goes for your BBQ sauce. Use your favorite! I find a sweet BBQ sauce like Sweet Baby Rays complements the smoky flavor of the wings perfectly.
Dipping Sauces – These are completely optional. I prefer the wings without dipping sauces, but consider ranch, blue cheese, honey mustard, buffalo, or a flaming hot sauce.
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
Plate Setter – If you are using a Kamado grill, like the Big Green Egg, you will want to install a plate setter like this one. This absorbs the heat and spreads it out over the grilling surface, so the food is protected from the direct heat of the charcoal.
No matter which grill you are using, make sure to have the hot coals AWAY from the meat.
Basting Brush – Make sure you are using a long basting brush. Keeping your hands over the hot grilling surface while brushing on the BBQ sauces is a recipe for disaster. Trust me! I prefer ones that are at least 12″ long.
Wood Chips – I used apple wood for the smoking, but you can go with another light wood such as cherry wood or something more bold like hickory. If you haven’t smoked much, check out my free Wood Smoking Cheatsheet. It will show you what types of wood work best with different types of food.
Internal Thermometer – We love using wireless temp checks for our chicken so we can grab them right off of the grill for the perfect internal temp for chicken before they go over 165° F.
🔥 Instructions
Step One: If your chicken wings are not separated, spend a few minutes separating the wings from the drumettes. Then, pat them dry using paper towels.
Step Two: Add the chicken wings to a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and spray with olive oil. Close the bag and give the wings a toss so they are lightly covered in oil.
Step Three: Add the dry rub and work them around to ensure even coverage.
Step Four: Set up your grill for indirect heat and bring the temperature to 250°. For gas grills, turn off the center burners. If using a charcoal grill, push the charcoals to the sides so the wings will smoke on indirect heat. Add the wood chunks or chips.
Step Five: Add the wings straight to the grill grate, close the lid, and let them smoke for about 90 minutes. The internal temperature should be 165° to be finished.
Step Six: When the wings are at the finished temperature, brush on the BBQ sauce quite liberally. Close the lid and let it finish smoking for 5 – 10 minutes. This will help the sauce to caramelize.
Remove and serve!
❗ Recipe Tips and Tricks
If you want your wings to be extra juicy you can dry brine them overnight just with salt.
If you don’t have a freezer or a Ziploc bag on hand, a large bowl or freezer bag will also work!
Be creative and use your favorite rub and sauce. I am not a huge fan of super-spicy, but you can make these hotter and serve with a nice cool ranch dressing to offset the spice.
If you have the Smokeware Stacker and Grill Grate Combo, you’ll have two layers of grilling grates to almost double the amount of wings you can smoke at once. Since this is an indirect heat recipe, it will work perfectly for the wings.
If you want crispy skin, simply place the wings over direct heat on the grill for the last 2 – 3 minutes. No need to use baking powder or cornstarch! If you’re using a pellet smoker either crank up the heat for the last minutes of cooking or use the oven method below.
I have also had success putting them on a sheet pan with a raised baking grid and broiling them in the oven for a minute or two. I found that my friends and family liked the sticky, gooey wings, so the broiling was really unnecessary.
Additions and Substitutions
The best part about making smoked chicken wings is you get endless possibilities to customize them!
Rubs
This is the time when it can be so much fun to mix the flavors up by making your own rub like we did for the Smoked Beer Can Chicken, buy a new sampler pack, or stick to your tried and true favorite.
When it comes to dry rub recipes I always come back to this homemade Java rub, or this versatile all-purpose dry rub. Both make a fantastic smoked wing seasoning!
The ingredients below are staples for dry rubs and you can combine them as you please to create new recipes:
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Brown sugar
- Cumin
- Thyme
- Red pepper flakes
- Oregano
- Celery salt
Basting Sauces
This really changes the taste of the wings depending on what sauce you choose to use. When you’re feeling frisky, make your own.
We love a good Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce, Beer BBQ Sauce, Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce, or Smoked Pumpkin Bourbon Sauce.
Dipping Sauces
Change the bottled dipping sauces to making your own Chipotle Mayo, Buffalo sauce, or Homemade Ranch sauce.
And when you feel like stepping away from the classics try our amazing beer and smoked cheese dip, or this easy beer corn crack dip.
🥨 Serving Suggestions
Wondering what to serve with chicken wings?
These wings are great “go-to” for a game day treat, so serve it with a decadent blue cheese dressing or next to other finger-food-friendly treats like Smoked Pretzels, Smoked Nuts, Smoked Little Smokies, or Queso Ranch Cheez-Its.
Don’t forget to serve up some carrots and celery sticks.
Make sure to cook a variety and this food will certainly be the star of the party!
More Chicken Wing Recipes
Chicken wings are one of the most popular BBQ foods for good reason. They cook fast, are very affordable, and great for feeding a crowd. Here are some of our favorite recipes for smoked and grilled chicken wings:
- DizzyPig IPA Dry Rub Smoked Chicken Wings
- Grilled Double IPA Chicken Wings
- Apricot Grilled Chicken Wings
- Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
- Grilled Pineapple Mango Chicken Wings
- Grilled Orange And Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings
Recipe FAQ
At 250°F, smoke them for about 90 minutes. You want the final temperature to reach 165°F though. It is better to shoot for temperature than it is to shoot for time.
You do not need to turn the wings over. This is a low-and-slow recipe with indirect heating. The smoke will work all around the wings and you don’t need to turn them over.
If you want these wings to have crispy skin, there are two techniques you can use. First, you can move the wings to direct heat for the last few minutes. This will crisp up the skin nicely.
Alternatively, you can put the wings on a sheet pan and broil them for a minute or two. Either way works wonders!
Another thing you can do if time allows it is to let the wings sit uncovered in the fridge for 3 hours. This will allow some of the moisture to evaporate so the skin ends up crispy after smoking.
Yes! The most important thing is to monitor the internal temperature of the wings using a digital thermometer. They are done when their internal temp reaches 165°F.
The long smoking time at low temperatures doesn’t fully break down myogloin, a protein responsible for the red color of meat. This will make your smoked wings pink on the inside even if they’re fully cooked.
Related Recipes
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Smoked Chicken Wings with DizzyDust Dry Rub
Equipment
- Ziploc Bags
Ingredients
- 12 Chicken Wings
- ½ cup DizzyDust DizzyPig Seasoning
- 1 cup BBQ Sauce you can substitute any sauce you like
Instructions
- Set grill to a temperature of 250°, using indirect heat.
- If the wings are not already separated, cut them into the wings and drumettes.
- Pat the wings dry and place them in a large Ziploc bag. Spray a bit of olive oil in the bag and work them around to ensure an even (light) coat.
- Sprinkle the dry rub in the bag and work it around to get an even coverage.
- Add the wings to the smoker for about 90 minutes. They should be 165°.
- Brush on BBQ sauce of your choice (optional) and close the lid. Let them smoke for another 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from the grill and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
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